World’s top 1% possess 34 times the wealth of the bottom 50%: Oxfam report

A recent Oxfam study has revealed that the world’s richest 1% have accumulated wealth of $42 trillion over the last ten years, almost 32 times more than the wealth of the bottom 50% of the world. The report by the British NGO came on July 25, ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 25-26, 2024.

The report said that the average wealth of the world's richest 1% increased by $400,000 in real terms in the last decade as compared to the $335 of the bottom half. This equates to an increase of less than nine cents per day for a person in the bottom 50%.

“Inequality has reached obscene levels, and until now, governments have failed to protect people and (the) planet from its catastrophic effects,” Max Lawson, Oxfam International’s Head of Inequality Policy, said.

“The richest one per cent of humanity continues to fill their pockets while the rest are left to scrap for crumbs," he added.

According to Oxfam, taxing the rich is one of the key solutions to tackle inequality. The report said that the billionaires have been paying a tax rate equivalent to less than 0.5% of their wealth which has increased by 7.1% annually on an average over the last hour decades.

It added that an annual tax of at least 8% would be needed to reduce the extreme wealth of these billionaires, four out of five of which are hosted by the G20 countries. Further, the study stated that the income of the top 1% of the earning population in G20 countries increased by 45%, while taxes on their incomes reduced roughly by a third in the last 40 years.

The G20 Brazil summit aims to reach a consensus on implementing a wealth tax. Reports suggest that during the summit, the ministers will focus on taxing the super-rich and bringing measures that can prevent them from evading taxes.

"Momentum to increase taxes on the super-rich is undeniable. Do they have the political will to strike a global standard that puts the needs of the many before the greed of an elite few?” Lawson said